وَأَنَّهُ هُوَ رَبُّ الشِّعرىٰ

That it is He who is the Lord of Sirius.

EXEGESIS

Shiʿrā is the star Sirius, which may be derived from the ancient Greek Seirios, meaning that which glows brightly.

EXPOSITION

Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. It is also a binary star, consisting of a main-sequence star and a small companion white dwarf star. The binary star Sirius is an interesting choice here, as it fits in nicely with the other earlier verses that have so far consisted of duality.

It has been recorded that the ancient Arabs actually had two stars that they referred to as Shiʿrā. One which rose from the south and they called Shiʿrā al-Yamānī (since Yemen was located to their south), and another which rose from the north which they deemed Shiʿrā al-Shāmī (since Shām or the Levant was located to their north). The Sirius spoken of in this verse is the former of these.^{‎[1]See Razi, 29/287; Nemuneh, 22/562.} In any case, the notion of duality seems to have been connected to Shiʿrā even in that time.

We may also note that the second star in the binary system, the white dwarf companion, used to be even larger than its companion before consuming all its fuel and eventually shrinking to its current state.^{‎[2]George Gatewood and Carolyn Gatewood; ‘A Study of Sirius’, in The Astrophysical Journal, (1978), October, issue 225, pp. 191-197.} Perhaps there is something to ponder here too, regarding the meaning of aqnā in the previous verse, and the fall of ʿĀd and other civilisations mentioned in the next verses.

Because of its brightness, Sirius has been of interest to mankind since ancient times. It has had a special significance in most ancient cultures. The ancient Egyptians considered it to be holy and used the heliacal sunrise (first morning visibility) of Sirius to predict the flooding of the Nile, apparently in an accurate way.^{‎[3]M. G. Nickiforov, and A. A. Petrova, ‘Heliacal rising of Sirius and flooding of the Nile’, in Bulgarian Astronomical Journal, (2012) Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 53-62.} In ancient Persia it was known as Tīshtar or Tīr. For the pre-Islamic Arabs also, Sirius had a special place in their religion. The Banī Khuzāʿah tribe used to worship Sirius as the progenitor of beings on earth,^{‎[4]Tabrisi, 9/276-277; Tabari, 27/45; Thalabi, 9/157; Nemuneh, 22/564. Ṭabrisī and Thaʿlabī mention that the first who brought that practice to Arabia was Abū Kabshah, who was said to be one of the forefathers of the Prophet and that because of this some Arabs used to deride the Prophet as Ibn Abī Kabshah. Alusi, 14/69, adds that the forefather was from his mother’s side of the family.} and the Arabs in general used to have superstitions involving it and its supposed effects on things.^{‎[5]Alusi, 14/69.} For this reason God emphasises That it is He who is the Lord of Sirius.

We may also note that the surah began with the oath, By the star when it sets. Hence, the audience is reminded that Sirius cannot be God, as God does not have an end, rather He is the end of all things, the terminus is toward your Lord (verse 42).^{‎[6]See Nemuneh, 22/564-566.}

[1] See Razi, 29/287; Nemuneh, 22/562.
[2] George Gatewood and Carolyn Gatewood; ‘A Study of Sirius’, in The Astrophysical Journal, (1978), October, issue 225, pp. 191-197.
[3] M. G. Nickiforov, and A. A. Petrova, ‘Heliacal rising of Sirius and flooding of the Nile’, in Bulgarian Astronomical Journal, (2012) Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 53-62.
[4] Tabrisi, 9/276-277; Tabari, 27/45; Thalabi, 9/157; Nemuneh, 22/564. Ṭabrisī and Thaʿlabī mention that the first who brought that practice to Arabia was Abū Kabshah, who was said to be one of the forefathers of the Prophet and that because of this some Arabs used to deride the Prophet as Ibn Abī Kabshah. Alusi, 14/69, adds that the forefather was from his mother’s side of the family.
[5] Alusi, 14/69.
[6] See Nemuneh, 22/564-566.